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Man arrested for using a bat in possible gaybashing on E Pine

Seattle Police arrested a man Sunday night on Capitol Hill for striking a man with a baseball bat and verbally harassing the victim for holding hands with another man. The incident happened around 11 PM Sunday when two men were walking by Harvard Ave and E Pine while holding hands. When the victims passed a parked car, they told police the occupants of the car started heckling them and called them “faggots.” Two of the suspects got out of the car and started following the victims.

One of the victims grabbed a baseball bat from their own car to defend themselves, but one of the suspects took it from him and hit him several times on the back, according to police. The victim was not seriously injured. According to police, the attackers fled in a car but officers located the vehicle near 9th Ave and E Alder. One of the men was arrested and booked into King County Jail for malicious harassment.

Update (8/12): On Monday a King County judge found probable cause to continue jailing Ivan Prokhorin, 22, in the alleged attack, according to court documents. Bail for the Auburn man was set at $75,000 and Prokhorin is next scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

According to police reports, one suspect said he was from Russia, one said he was from Ukraine, and one said he was from Kazakhstan. Here’s SPD’s Blotter.

If catching the guys that did it is supposed to make G/L people feel better there aren’t Russian, Ukrainian, and Kazakhs homophobes out there– it doesn’t. The story just confirms what I thought already, that homophobia still flourishes in eastern Europe. If you were just joking, it’s just not that funny. I don’t get your point….?

Never bluff with weapons. You’ll end up maimed or worse. Not to mention you could face brandishing charges (gross misdemeanor=jail) yourself depending on imminent threat. There’s more to this story. If they had enough time to pull a bat out of the car, did they have enough time to get in the car and drive away? Were they followed home? Were they just called names or verbally threatened? How close were they? Was there an immediate danger that required the use of force? Yes, all of these things matter.

No one deserves to be hit with a bat because they’re gay. But please think before allowing anger and ego take over. Go over these scenarios with your partner and what your “line in the sand” is. If you act wrong, you could be facing severe life altering charges yourself, instead of the scumbags doing the harassment.

Glad they were able to catch someone. This is in my hood. Just tonight I had some tweaker on his bike on Broadway blocking the sidewalk so i said excuse me he didn’t hear me so I squeezed past him it was in front of the The Broadway alley where they have outdoor restaurant seating taking up some of the sidewalk and the guy get’s all angry saying something like I should say excuse me. I thought to myself uh oh is he gonna go off on me. But just kept walking and ignored him. But you never know when someone is gonna go off so many crazy people out and the heat makes it worse.

There really does seem to be an increase in crazy people, drunks, and druggies wandering our streets, shouting out profanities, etc. I’ve learned that it’s never a good idea to call them out on their unacceptable behaviors, because they always respond defensively with anger and threats. Just keep walking.

No. there has been no “increase in crazy people, drunks, and druggies wandering our streets”. I have lived on this hill for 14 years. There is definitely a shift in the type of drunks you see around Pike and Pine, though. And as that shift continues, I will not be surprised if hate crimes increase.

But back to the point, Capitol Hill has always had its fair share of the crazy, the drunk, and the drugged.

You might be right. I’ve lived here for much longer than you, and there have been some years with more problem people. But there still is a very noticeable number of crazies around. It’s gotten so I don’t even want to walk down Broadway at certain times of the day.

I really hope they make an example out of this asshole. If you are an aggressive homophobe what the hell are you doing on Capitol Hill?? There has been multiple cases like this on the hill as of recent. More families and young children are moving to Capitol Hill and we as gay people aren’t aggresively trying g to get them to go elsewhere! It is what it is. But it’s still the gayberhood, and it SHOULD be a safety zone for us. Put this piece of shot away in prison so he can first hand witness what’s it’s like to be with another man. Lol. We will be outraged if this isn’t handled sternly.

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